Won't You Stay 'Til The AM?
by OctaviaWithStarsForEyes
Summary: Artemis Crock sat cross legged on the bathroom floor. In one hand she held a knife, and in the other she held a tiny bottle of tequila. / Used to be a oneshot, now the story of how, over the course of one week, Artemis decided Wally West was pretty great. / T for alcohol, self-harm, brief mention of addiction, and language.
1. Discovery

Artemis Crock sat cross legged on the bathroom floor. In one hand she held a knife, and in the other she held a tiny bottle of tequila. She downed another desperate gulp of liquor and winced as it burned its way down her throat. Not drunk enough yet. She tipped the bottle back and swallowed another mouthful before sputtering as she choked. Hacking and coughing, she desperately tried to clear her airways, as reactionary tears welled in her eyes. Artemis recovered, wheezing heavily, and wiping away the fluids escaping from her mouth, nose and eyes.

"Hey, who's in here? Are you okay?" A familiar voice asked from outside the bathroom door. Wally.

"Shuddup, Flashboy." She slurred. "This's your fault anyway, you fucking dick."

"Artemis, are you drunk in there? You're drunk in a bathroom at 3 AM?" He sounded exasperated and she sniffed haughtily ...as haughty as you can be when you're completely sloshed in the middle of the night and are trying to drown all your problems in liquor.

"Oh, cuz your mister class. And just so you know, I'm not as think as you drunk I am." She giggled giddily at her mistake. "I mean- you know what I mean."

"Artemis, would you come out please?" Wally asked.

"No." She glared at the door. "I'm not drunk enough yet. I can't look at your ugly face until I'm at least three sips drunker."

What she didn't say was how much it hurt to see his face. To see him, so cheerful and casual, interacting easily with everyone except her. Always seeing his features turn to stone whenever she was around.

"What are you-? Y'know what, I don't care. I'm coming in."

She stiffened, at least lucid enough to know what that meant. She shot to her feet, scrambling for order. "No, no, you don't have to-!"

It was too late. The door flew open as Wally kicked it in and Artemis felt her heart plummeting in her chest. The triumphant speedster froze as he surveyed the situation and processed what he was seeing.

Artemis was standing unsteadily in a pair of cotton shorts and a large t-shirt. The knife clenched in her right hand was slicked in crimson blood, and the tequila bottle was a quarter empty. The blonde archer had sickeningly methodical slices, completely even and thin across her thighs. Wally in his horrified stupor foggily realised this was the first time he had ever seen her legs, and that must've been why. Each cut was at a different stage of healing, some were sealed with a scab, some were raw and half mended, some were nothing more than faint pink lines. Wally, however, was more focused on the ones that were openly bleeding, leaving beads of blood crawling down her legs.

"Artemis..." He whispered shakily. "What did you do?"

Her face pitched a dark shade of red. "Get out."

"No. We need to talk about this. You're cutting yourself?" His voice was soft, and she hated him for the pity in his eyes.

"It's none of your business." Artemis crossed her arms. "And don't look at me like that. I'm not a kicked puppy."

"Why?" Wally croaked eyes raking down her cuts. "Why would you do this?"

Perhaps normally she would've shut him out, but the tequila loosened her lips and she scowled at him.

"It's your fault, you fuck." She swayed tipsily, but didn't let that affect her withering glare. "You and Red Arrow and Kaldur."

The ginger looked lost for words at that, and his eyes widened. "What are you talking about? What did we do?"

"'If someone hadn't lost it'," she imitated his voice, sneering. "'And between the two of you, you know who we'd choose', 'I know she's the mole'."

Wally's lips parted with understanding, and his expression fell.

"You didn't even bother to give me a chance." Her anger was burning away, replaced by the suspicious brightness in her slate-grey eyes. "You don't know anything about me. About what I've been through."

"Artemis." He reached for her, but she stumbled back drunkenly before tipping her head back with another measure of liquor. "Okay, I'm sorry. Why don't you hand me the tequila and the knife, and we'll talk this out."

She cradled the bottle to her chest. "Leave me alone, Wally. I don't need you. I don't need your approval. You're not my mother."

"While I agree you hold your liquor well, how old are you, sixteen?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"So what if I am?" Artemis muttered grumpily.

He sighed, and sped forward in a blur to snatch the bottle and the knife out of her hands.

"Hey! No fair!" She whined, lurching forward. Off balance, she floundered for something to steady herself on, which happened to be Wally. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she grappled for purchase.

"Ow, ow, try not to claw my shoulders off." He snapped, sliding an arm around her waist to steady her.

"S'ry." She mumbled, reaching half-heartedly for the bottle in his other hand.

"Nope, nope, nope." Wally held it out of her reach. "C'mon, I'm taking you back to bed."

The two heroes half staggered, half blundered down the hall until they reached Artemis's honorary room in the cave.

The door opened, and the speedster dumped Artemis on the bed.

"Don't move." He ordered firmly. "I'm going to get the first aid kit."

Wally sped up to his own honorary room and grabbed the first aid kit he'd stashed under his bed. He dumped the tequila down the drain and recycled the bottle, muttering, "good riddance."

When he got back to Artemis's room, she was sitting exactly where he had left her, but with a book in her hands.

"What are you doing?" He asked, furrowing his brow. "Is that Alice in Wonderland?"

"It's my fav'rite." She informed him, slurring her words. "I like the kitty."

Wally sighed and got out the antiseptic wipes and bandages. He ripped open the packet, and started wiping her cuts down with the wipe.

"Ouch!" She hissed, flinching away. "Stop, dad."

"Did you just call me your dad?" The ginger stared at her incredulously.

Her face turned an unflattering shade of pink and Artemis muttered something incoherent. He didn't bother asking what, just continued cleaning her up.

"So, why don't you tell me why you've been cutting yourself." He said, opening a new packet of antiseptic.

"It's none'v your biz'ness." She huffed, crossing her arms.

"Considering the fact that I busted down a door to find you drunk as hell at 3 AM in the morning and am now bandaging your injuries, I'd say it's my business." Wally countered, now unrolling a package of gauze.

The blonde was silent for a while, watching him carefully wrapping up her cuts.

"I don't belong here. I'm not a hero." She whispered finally, eyes glossy. "You said so yourself. You all would be better without me. The world would be better without me."

Wally swallowed awkwardly. "Artemis, that's not...okay, you're not going to remember this in the morning, and on the slim chance you do, I will deny ever saying this. But, you've kinda proved yourself. More than Red Arrow has, anyway. Stupid bastard wouldn't join our team until it benefited him."

He chuckled grimly and shook his head, the true hurt of the statement leaking through.

Her eyes shimmered with tears, and one slipped down her cheek. "I'm not a hero, Wally. You all have...no idea what I've been through."

Her words were relatively clear and eloquent, making Wally wonder if she had been exaggerating the affects of the alcohol earlier.

He tied off the gauze, and sat back on his heels. "Artemis, how drunk are you right now, on a scale of one to ten?"

"Three." She answered. At his narrowed gaze, she amended her statement. "Okay, fine. Like six. Maybe seven."

"Where did you even get the alcohol?"

"My mom. She used to have a problem with it." Artemis crossed her arms and gave him a look that told him she wasn't going to elaborate.

Wally sighed, dragging his fingers through his hair. Already, small patches of red were blooming on the bandage. "Just, why? Why would you do this to yourself?"

"I told you already." Her voice melted to a murmur. "I'm just... I have a lot going on, okay? And begin constantly questioned, distrusted, and blamed really doesn't help with the fact. It's just me and my mom and I really don't need all this extra shit."

The speedster felt an unpleasant tug in his gut. Guilt.

"Wh-what happened to your dad?" He asked carefully.

Instantly her mask of anger was snapped back on and she glared. "None of your business, Kid Bitch."

He backed off, holding up his hands in the universal sign for surrender. "Fine, fine, sorry. But promise you won't do this anymore."

She eyed him cautiously. "Why should I? It's my body, it's my decision."

"Artemis. For me, promise." He said, staring into her eyes.

She paused, and then let out a shaky breath. "Okay. Okay. I can- I can do that."

"Good, I'll be coming in to check on you every night." Wally warned her, raising his eyebrows.

Her mouth curved into something almost resembling a smile and she crawled backwards to slide under her duvet. She didn't lie down, just sat there, with her knees tugged up to her chin.

And then, she dropped her forehead and started to cry. Wally took a seat on the bed and pulled her shaking body to his chest. He rubbed a hand over her back and stroking her thick hair. The blonde locks were surprisingly soft, and he couldn't resist trailing his fingers through it.

When she finally quieted, Wally found her asleep on his shoulder. Easing her gently down, he pulled the covers up to her chin and turned to leave the room, grabbing his first aid kit on the way out. He flicked off the lights, but turned back to see her sleeping figure. The sparse light from the hallway illuminated Artemis's features, painting them golden where the light struck and inky where shadows fell.

He studied her for a second, and then shook his head and turned to leave. It was, after all, 3 AM. And Wally was not a morning person. Closing the door behind him, he sped back to his own room and climbed into bed. He'd deal with this in the morning, for now he just wanted some sleep.

 _fin_

.

.

.

 **Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed that little plot bunny! So I've decided I'm going to begin creating playlists for each oneshot/story I write. For oneshots, I'm only going to put six songs, because making a longer playlist would be useless. Oneshots are short, and so are the playlists. Anyway, I tried to pick out something for everyone. So either you can go on Spotify and look up "Spitfire in the AM", or I've put the songs below. Cheers!**

 **Playlist:**

 **1\. A.M. by One Direction**

 **2\. Drunk by Ed Sheeran**

 **3\. I'm Not Okay (I Promise) by My Chemical Romance**

 **4\. Creep by Radiohead**

 **5\. I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight by Neil Diamond**

 **6\. Drunk in the Morning by Lukas Graham**


	2. Night One: Trying

"Knock knock." Wally rapped his knuckles against the doorframe and Artemis's head snapped up with a start.

"Um, can I help you?" She raised an eyebrow. Wally sidled in and took a seat on her desk chair.

"How much of last night do you remember?" He asked, breaching the subject they had been both been ignoring all day. She cleared her throat and swallowed awkwardly.

"Erm, not much. It's kinda blurry. I was in the bathroom, you kicked the door in, and then a lot of talking. I don't recall most of what we said." Artemis answered warily, hands unconsciously going to rest on her thighs.

"I discovered you were cutting yourself, you were drunk as hell, I wrapped you up, and then, and here's the most important part, I promised I would check on you every night." Wally finished.

"Every night?" She gaped in surprise. "That seems excessive."

"Okay, not every night, but every night for a week. Just to make sure you heal up." He amended, rubbing the back of his neck. "I need you to change your pants."

Artemis flushed scarlet and did a double take. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I have to see your cuts and check how they're healing." Wally explained, fighting the redness that was creeping up her necks and the tips of his ears. "Don't make it weird, please."

She smirked slightly, and then went to go grab a change of shorts. "Get out while I change."

He obliged, slipping out of the room, and waiting until she opened the door back open, now wearing a pair of athletic shorts.

"I'm decent." She informed him, unwrapping her hair from the slicked back ponytail.

"Right." He walked back in, not making direct eye contact with Artemis, who was definitely taking longer than necessary to pull out her ponytail. She played with the ends of her hair, standing stiffly while she eyed him, as if waiting for instructions.

"Um, just take a seat?" He said, gesturing for her to sit down.

She sat down with a nod, and he motioned for her to lift her leg so he could unwrap the bandages he'd put there the night before.

"Did you change these bandages from yesterday?" He asked, not meeting her eyes, instead focusing on the cuts on her thighs.

"No. Should I have?" She questioned, watching him work with interest.

"No, no! It's fine, I can just do it every night." He assured her quickly, examining the cuts that were threaded with scabs.

The newer ones were still raw and pink, and but he expected they would heal over the next three days. He pursed his lips and retrieved a salve from his pocket.

Dipping a finger into the pot, he smeared the clear paste across her cuts, making Artemis start.

"You okay?" He wondered, hands immediately jumping away as if he'd been burned by her skin.

"Yeah, yeah. Just cold." She snorted, trying to brush off her surprise.

Wally smirked, and went back to applying the stuff, this time with a mischievous twinkle in his emerald eyes. As she bent back over to watch his deft hands, one darted up to smear the tip of her nose in medicinal jelly.

She recoiled in shock, eyes crossing so she could try to see her nose. Wally burst out laughing, eyes dancing as her jaw slackened in shock.

"Why you little-!" She exclaimed angrily, before scooping out some salve to plaster across Wally's face, from his forehead, across his eyes and down his nose until its was covering his face, past his mouth.

He sputtered as he tasted it in his mouth and he tried in vain to get it off his tongue. "Ugh! Tastes like Vaseline! But...minty. Hm, actually, that isn't too bad."

Artemis wrinkled her nose. "Gross. Only you would actually find Vaseline to taste good. Let me guess, serious metabolism?"

"What? No! It's actually tastes really good! Just try it!" He insisted. She narrowed her eyes at him, and cautiously took a lick of the residual paste on her fingers. It tasted like rubber, iron, week-old-garbage, and garlic.

"Augh!" She pulled an extreme face, and shuddered. "You liar! That tasted like death!"

"Karma." Wally sang, smirking smugly. "That's what you get."

He snickered quietly as he went back to wrapping up her legs with new bandages, while Artemis sulked.

Wally tied off the end of the bandage, and sat back in satisfaction. "Aha! Tada and you're welcome!"

She examined his handy work and nodded. "Looks good, thanks doc."

Wally then shooed her off the seat and motioned for her to return to her bed. "Now, tell me about your negative feelings."

Artemis snorted and started to chuckle. When she saw he wasn't laughing with her, she stopped abruptly and stared at him. "Wait, what? Since when have you wanted to talk to me about emotions?"

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Well obviously you started cutting yourself because of negative emotions. It's part of my role as your doctor to keep it from ever happening again."

"You're not serious."

"Try me."

She saw that he wasn't giving up on this and sighed, lying back against her pillows. "I mean, I guess it was just about being insecure. I was new, and wasn't really sure how to interact with you all. And I tried to make decisions, even if I wasn't too sure of myself. Then on top of that, the things I already wasn't sure of, I had questioned every step of the way. Of course I doubted myself. But with you guys doubting me too, it was just too much. I couldn't take it out on the battlefield, I was more professional than that, thank you very much."

Her words seemed to lodge in her throat and she paused. When she looked up, Wally was staring intensely at her waiting for her to go on. She bit her lip, but forced herself to continue.

"But one night I was cleaning my knives before bed and suddenly I realised how sharp and shiny it was. I got distracted and nicked myself on the blade. After that, I became obsessed with cutting myself. It started as little things, just the pad of my thumb or a tiny line on my thigh. But then they just became bigger and I realised I had to start hiding them. And...you know the rest."

Wally, instead of looking disturbed or fascinated looked like he was in deep thought. He pursed his lips and leaned back in his chair, letting his neck loll.

"Well? Aren't you going to say something?" She demanded, feeling antsy and uncomfortable with the silence.

"What did you think you were doing when you were cutting yourself?" He inquired, tilting his head to the side curiously.

Her lips tightened at the corners and she dropped her gaze. "I guess...I don't know. I saw my blood as...my flaws. I thought I was bleeding them out."

(While perhaps that might've been true, what she didn't tell him was that she imagined her blood was her ties to her criminal family, and she was trying to not let their mistakes become hers. She was trying to sever ties with them, trying to be the first Crock to be a hero. But he didn't need to know that just yet.)

Wally was unreadable at this point, as he studied her. Then he grinned at and crossed his arms, clearly pleased with himself.

"Look, I'm no Robin, but here's what I'd recommend. You need to practice not doubting yourself. I'd say do things you know you're good at, that make you feel good but still challenges you. As much as I hate to say it, inflate your ego. Use a fucking bicycle pump if you need to." He advised.

Artemis raised a sceptical eyebrow. "You came up with that all on your own?"

Wally paused and blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Okay fine, I saw it in one of my mom's therapy books. But that ego thing? That was all Wally West Words of Wisdom." He flashed a winning smile at her.

"Probably because you practice it so much. I wouldn't be surprised if you did use a bicycle pump to pump up your ego." She sniggered, and he pushed out his bottom lip in a pout.

"Ouch, that hurts. I'm insulted." He shook his head in mock hurt.

Just then Wally's phone buzzed, and they both jumped in their seats. Wally quickly retrieved his cell and turned it on.

"It's my parents, I gotta get home. Same time tomorrow?" He grinned and she returned it, albeit slightly more amused.

"Sure fine. See you." She waved. Wally got to his feet and started at the door before a thought occurred to him and he paused to look back.

"Hey, you seemed really relaxed and open today? What's with that?" He asked.

There was brief pause before Artemis spoke.

"I mean, you've seen me at my literal worst. My actual lowest point in history. What's there to hide from you?" She admitted, eyes looking resigned.

(Actually there was quite a lot, but he was friendly and concerned and easy to talk to, and he was her doctor. Sorta.)

"Cool." He beamed and sped away in a yellow blur.

Artemis watched him leave pensively, and she realised that this was the first time they had ever gone through a whole conversation without fighting. And it had been kinda nice. And she'd kinda liked it.

Not that she'd admit it of course. She'd never tell a soul that maybe Wally West was slightly less annoying than Klarion and that little talking session was slightly less of a complete and utter torture than she'd anticipated.

Slightly.

.

.

.

 **So this was going to a oneshot, but Timx74 PMed me and requested more chapters, so this is going to be a multichap now. Review please!**

 **Playlist:**

 **1\. Rain Clouds by The Arcadian Wild**

 **2\. EASE by Troye Sivan**

 **3\. Alone Together by Fall Out Boy**

 **4\. Fix You by Coldplay**

 **As always, you can find this playlist on Spotify under octaviastareyes "Spitfire in the AM"**


	3. Night Two: Easing

**Sorry this took so long, please review ;)**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

The next night that Wally knocked on her door, Artemis had already changed into shorts.

"Come in!" She called. The speedster waltzed in to find her untying her bandages and beginning to unwind them. She frowned as she had to pass the end under her leg, and he sank to the floor to help her out.

"I got it." He grinned. "Tell me things."

"Things?" She arched a critical brow and he snorted.

"I dunno. How was your day?" He shrugged, focusing on his task.

"Hm. Well, today at school there was this irritating girl named Jamie. And she thinks she's so great..." Artemis ranted on while Wally smiled slightly. He liked this new thing they had. As it turned out, Artemis was pretty cool when she wasn't glaring or arguing with him.

"Sounds awful." He said absently, retrieving a new pot of ointment.

"Whoa, whoa!" She exclaimed, jumping from her chair and edging away. "I know what that is, and I don't trust you with it!"

He grinned wickedly and waved the pot around menacingly. "Scared of a little medicine, Arty?"

She scowled and folded her arms defensively. "No, just cautious. And anyway, it's not the medicine I'm afrai- I mean, cautious of. It's you. I know what kind of villain you can be."

He cackled in a devious way that was reminiscent of Robin, and screwed off the top.

"Get back, fiend!" She commanded in mock anger, picking up a nearby spray bottle of water.

"Never!" He shouted, dipping his fingers inside the pot and jabbing towards her with his sticky digits.

She brandished the spray bottle with a fierceness that rivalled Wonder Woman with her lasso.

"You asked for it!" She warned him, hopping onto the bed and furiously pulling the trigger of her impromptu water gun.

Wally let out a manly squeal as the mist of water rained upon him and clung to his hair and eyelashes. He scrunched up his face as he took the brunt of several sprays, and tried in vain to bat away the minuscule water droplets.

"Haha! Take that!" Artemis gloated from her stance on the bed. "Artemis reigns victorious once more against the evil Wallman!"

"Alright, Aqualassy, get down, I surrender and admit defeat. Just let me finish wrapping you up." Wally snorted, and she dropped onto her bottom with a creak of springs.

There was a smile splitting her face, brighter than any he'd ever seen as she allowed him to get back to work.

"Why do you have a spray bottle in your room, anyway?" He muttered, feigning a little bitterness.

"Watering the houseplant." She said as though it was obvious.

He stared and then burst out laughing, guffawing until tears were leaking from the corners of his eyes.

"You've been watering that thing?"

She glared suspiciously at him. "Every other day."

He laughed all the harder, succumbing to the mirth until his amusement was silent and he was shaking.

"What?" She snapped, as he continued chuckling.

"You know that houseplant is fake, right?" He asked once he'd recovered from his laughing fit.

Artemis gaped at him as a stain of pink spread across her cheeks to the tips of her ears. "You're kidding."

He shook his head, grinning at her.

She winced, squeezing her eyes shut and slapping a hand to her forehead. "And when I asked Red Tornado to water the plant while I was in Vietnam...?"

"He was so confused that week. He kept asking if it was a human saying or a code phrase or something." Wally answered gleefully.

"Great." She groaned, going even redder at the thought. He smirked but didn't say more.

Wally peered at the scars on her legs, most of which were nothing but faint pink lines against her olive skin. The ones he'd been watching for the past two days had knitted closed and were losing the angry red they'd started with.

"Well? How's it look, doc?" She smirked, seeing the satisfaction on his face.

The corners of his bright green eyes crinkled as he smiled and she found a smile rising to her own lips.

"Damn good." He replied succinctly and she laughed, throwing her head back.

Wally's smile broadened and he felt something warm and nice brew in his chest. It was...friendship. Maybe. It was different than what he felt with Robin, but not the same as what he'd felt with girls he'd liked in the past, like M'gann. (Contrary to popular belief, he did actually like her for sometime, but he was over it now.)

Whatever it was, it was comfortable and he didn't want it to stop.

He finished applying the ointment for good measure and quickly wrapped up her legs with clean bandages. Patting her leg to signal he was done, he stood up, clearly pleased with himself.

"Good news is, you don't appear to scar easily, so these probably won't stick around for much longer. Most of these cuts were superficial, so they should heal almost completely." He explained and she nodded, looking lighter than he'd ever seen her.

"Cool. I've missed wearing shorts. Summer's coming up, so that's great to hear." Artemis said leaning back in the chair.

Wally sat up on the edge of her bed and stretched, hearing several bones pop as he did. Artemis cringed at the noise and he noticed immediately.

"What, don't like that noise?" He asked mischievously. When she shook her head disdainfully, he proceeded to crack every single knuckle, one at a time.

"Stop it!" She shrieked, slapping him and wincing at every pop.

He snickered at her reaction, mentally filing away the information for a later date. It never hurt to know people's weaknesses.

"So, how was your day?" She asked, mimicking his tone from earlier.

He smiled (he seemed to do a lot of that in her presence), and began to explain about this one teacher he absolutely hated. Artemis seemed content to interject with the occasional witty non sequitur, and he went on to do a quick recounting of his day.

"Hey, Wally?"

"Mm?"

"Why are you doing this?" She asked curiously. Wally's breath hitched and he inhaled sharply.

"Why am I doing what?" He desperately tried to affect innocence.

She gave him a pointed look and he sighed, shoulders slumping.

"I mean, because I'm a decent human being? Because I care about the health of my team?" His voice went soft. "Because I feel guilty?"

Artemis said nothing, only watched him carefully.

"I mean, I'm part of the reason you did this to yourself, right? I'm trying to put things right." He admitted. When she didn't respond, he chuckled mirthlessly. "Trying, anyway."

Surprisingly, her eyes softened and the corner of her mouth lifted. "Okay. That's...astonishingly thoughtful of you. I appreciate it."

He grinned nervously. "Every once in a while I seem to do something right."

She raised an eyebrow sceptically, but didn't hide the smirk on her lips. "And those times are few and far between, but for now you seem to be doing alright."

"You know what? I'll take it. I will accept that answer and enjoy it and love it because that might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Wally shrugged honestly. "Anyway, I gotta get going. Y'gonna be okay?"

"Yeah." She smiled serenely, and he nodded cheerfully.

"See you tomorrow, then." With a little salute, he was speeding away from her with a grin still tugging at his lips.

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **You know the drill.**

 **Playlist:**

 **1\. The Spark by Joshua Hyslop**

 **2\. Feeling Good cover by Michael Bublé**


	4. Night Three: Settling

**New chapter! No playlist this time, but I figured you guys might want an update more than a song ;) Enjoy!**

.

.

.

Wally sidled in, not bothering to knock. Artemis who was lying on the bed with her book open, looked up with a raised eyebrow.

"I could've been naked in here, y'know." She remarked, sitting up.

"All the better for me." Wally waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Artemis mimed gagging.

"You're the worst." She informed him and he flashed a winning smile in response.

"Let's play a game." Wally said, and Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"A game?" She echoed, voice dubious.

"A questions game. I ask you a question, you ask me a question. And you have to answer truthfully." He explained and she shrugged.

"Sure. I'll go first. Why do you flirt so much?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "I mean. I can't honestly believe you are genuinely attracted to every girl you meet." She looked to him for confirmation.

"Pfft, of course not, that'd be absurd. I'm only attracted to the pretty ones." He quipped cheekily, winking at her.

She narrowed her eyes, and he shrugged.

"It's just part of who I am, I guess. It's my coping mechanism, sort of. It's not always easy doing all the things I do, it's just something I do to kind of...deal with things. And to pick up hot babes, of course." Wally added, as he deemed his answer got too serious.

Artemis's eyes were uncharacteristically gentle, and she smiled, eyes crinkling at the corners. "Of course. Always the babes with you. You've got a one track mind."

"Okay! My turn. Why don't you ever talk about your family?" He inquired, and her face shut down.

"I just...don't like talking about them." Remembering the honesty Wally had displayed with her question she forced herself to elaborate, gritting her teeth. "They're not-I don't come from a family I'm proud of. And I just don't want to connect myself to them. Please don't ask."

Wally repressed the questions he had and tried to quell the burning curiosity. "One day, though? Will you tell me?"

Artemis looked highly unsure, but managed a weak smile. "One day."

Knowing that was the best he was going to get out of her, he sighed, but nodded. "Your turn."

"Do you know Robin's secret ID?" That was a question she was dying to know the answer to.

"Duh." He grinned smugly, attitude completely changing. "There are no secrets between us. We're bros."

"Can you tell me?" She followed up, eyes shining with excitement. This was her chance!

He saw the look in her eyes and shook his head. "Ah, ah, ah. Nope. That's Rob's secret to tell you. Not mine. And bros don't betray bros."

"Except, of course, in front of cute Martians. Do you really get a bloody nose when to you try to vibrate through walls?" She asked, smirking at his disgruntled expression.

"You weren't even there! How would you know that?" He demanded, crossing his arms defensively.

She snickered and smiled slyly. "Girls talk. Your turn."

"Well, my question is, what do girls 'talk' about?" He leaned closer to get the juicy insider, but Artemis pushed his forehead away playfully.

"You really wanna know what they say?" She raised an eyebrow challengingly, and Wally deflated a bit.

"Um, yes?" He confirmed, sounding a little cowed.

"Well, M'gann thinks you're cute but not her type, Zatanna likes Robin, but doesn't think it'll last, everyone knows Superboy is one hot piece of ass, but M'gann has him wrapped around her finger. Kaldur is attractive, but everyone knows he'll always have a thing for Tula, although the Zatanna kinda thinks there's a thing with Roy there. Roy is attractive too, but way too annoying to put up with, much less date. M'gann has always betted on you and Robin-,"

"WAIT, WHAT?" Wally exclaimed in horror and surprise, flushing a deep shade of crimson that did not flatter his freckled complexion.

"Well yeah, I mean you guys do kinda act-,"

"EW! OH GROSS!" The ginger speedster looked completely disgusted by the idea. "We're just bros! Compadres! Amigos! That's it! I like girls! Robin is a guy! Pass!"

Artemis burst out laughing. "She named you two BirdFlash!"

"Wha-! Oh c'mon. Ship names, really? And honestly, she could do better. Birdflash? That's weak." He huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, I didn't make it up!" She shrugged, still grinning in amusement.

"Well, now with this valuable insight into the female mindset-," He stopped as something occurred to him. "Hey wait, you didn't say what you thought."

She pressed her lips together. So close to getting away with it, but of course the one time Wally decides to be observant.

"I think Robin is a little troll, Conner is hot, Roy is irritating and needs to get over himself, Kaldur is our literal mom, and you..." Artemis trailed off hesitantly. What did she want to say? Did she want to mention how annoying and argumentative he was sometimes? Or did she want to be honest with how sweet and friendly he'd been lately. How caring, and funny he had been, following through with his promises, and keeping her company in the lonely evenings. Rescuing her from herself, and making sure she stayed safe. Her words died in her throat, and her mouth went dry. A wave of emotions swelled and she found it difficult to breathe. Wally's eyes were really green, she noticed absently, like spring grasses and emeralds.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, she turned a light shade of pink and finished weakly. "And you're ginger."

"Oh, come on! That's all? I'm ginger? That's all you've got on me." He threw his hands up, not noticing her brief gaffe. "Glad to know I make such an impression."

She coughed awkwardly and forced a mechanical chuckle. "Yeah. Well, it's my turn. What do guys talk about?"

"Not much. Robin likes to talk about his tech stuff sometimes, but we mainly tune that stuff out." Wally admitted, looking slightly guilty about it. "Let's see...Kaldur is too mature and stuck on Tula to talk about girls, Conner doesn't talk, like, at all, Robin likes Zatanna, but we all knew that, Roy thinks he's too cool to interact with us babies, although he seems perfectly content to hang with just Kaldur -hm, I kinda see Zatanna's point with those two- but other than that I haven't heard him talk about many girls. And obviously, I'm making huge progress with M'gann, we'll probably be a couple in a few weeks."

"Yeah, right." She snorted loudly, and Wally's grin morphed to something a little more bittersweet.

"Okay fine. I think M'gann is pretty, and I used to have a crush on her. But I'm over it now." His unspoken 'I'm used to rejection' rang in his mind, and his grin slipped. He recovered impressively quickly, and he was beaming again in a matter of seconds. "I think Zatanna is pretty, but not my type. I think you're pretty and I'd consider you except that you're arguing and yelling at me all the time. So." He arched an eyebrow at her to indicate the hint he was dropping, but she just rolled her eyes.

"Baby." The uncomfortable lurch that had overturned her stomach when he said she was pretty contrasted with her apathetic behaviour. God, why was that suddenly important to her?

Get it together Crock, it's just Kid Idiot, a voice in her head snapped.

"Let's not play this game anymore." Artemis decided in a slightly unsteady voice. Wally nodded in agreement, looking unsettled.

"Maybe I should go." He mumbled awkwardly. Artemis was conflicted between whether she wanted him to stay or needed to be alone with her thoughts.

She mustered a grin and narrowed her eyes. "Will you do the thing when you go out?"

"What thing?" His casual attitude leapt back into place, faster than Artemis wanted to think about. Where had he gotten that sort of practice from?

"The phasing through walls thing." She said, and he groaned.

"No way. Not happening." Wally shook his head emphatically.

"Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!" Artemis chanted, bobbing up and down with the rhythm of her words.

He scowled and crossed his arms. "That's not gonna work."

"Do it, do it, do it."

"Okay, fine! If it'll get you to shut up." He grumbled, giving in with a sigh.

Artemis smirked triumphantly, and watched eagerly. The speedster swung his legs off the bed and walked over to the door.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Wally muttered to himself, shooting a dark look over his shoulder at the blonde archer, who gave him a smug thumbs up.

He held his hand up to the wall and started to vibrate. His hand became a blur and he moved forward to the wall. His hand went straight through the wall and his arm followed, but when it reached his shoulder, he stopped. Half his body was now stuck through the wall.

"Oh my god." Artemis's mouth hung open in pure shock. "That's incredible."

"Well, kind of." He grinned, preening at the compliments from someone who was usually so stingy about them. "I mean, M'gann can do this too."

"But she's a Martian! They can do everything! And you're not. Whoa." Pure surprise made her words run without filter. When she realised what she'd said, she blushed, much to the Kid Flash's glee.

"Yeah, I'm pretty much awesome. Weird how it took you so long to realise." Wally smirked, running his free hand through his hair.

"Oh shut up. Can you pass through?" Artemis asked curiously. The ginger's expression fell.

"Uh, yeah, that's the thing. I'm stuck." Wally pressed his lips together in embarrassment.

Artemis burst out laughing while he pouted and blushed.

"Seriously, Artemis! I'm stuck! Would you please stop laughing, I'm losing feeling in my arm!" Wally complained.

"Okay, okay! Hold on." Artemis latched her hands on Wally's wrist, braced her foot against the wall and pulled.

"Ow! That hurts!" Wally whined, as he was yanked with all of an archer's strength.

"Well suck it up! If you wanna get out, you're gonna have to just stand still. No pain, no gain." Artemis grunted, pulling again.

"This isn't working! I can't get back through this way!" The speedster exclaimed, a panicky look flitting across his face.

"Right." Artemis stopped, and stood with her hands on her lips, thinking. "Okay, new idea. Start vibrating and brace yourself."

"Wait, what?" He practically yelled.

"Just do it!"

Wally sighed and started to buzz. When he became a blur of colour, Artemis shoved him as hard as she could. With a startled yelp, he tumbled through the wall and disappeared. The blonde stared at her hand, which had vibrated alarmingly when she'd made contact with his shoulder, before remembering she just pushed a boy through a wall. She rushed to the door and hurried outside.

The ginger was lying on the ground, groaning and clutching his face.

"You okay?" She asked, seemingly unconcerned. Inside however, she was extremely worried she'd hurt him somehow.

"Yeb."

"Yeb?"

"I already told you. I ged bloody d'noses when I try that." He glared up at her, blood leaking from his nose.

Artemis heaved a relieved sigh internally and extended a hand to Wally. He took it and lurched to his feet.

"I'b leabing." He grumbled, clearly irritated. "Hab a good d'night, Ardemis."

"Not so fast, Flash Baby, you're coming with me." She snagged his arm and began dragging him back.

"Why?" He scowled, pouting as he followed her.

She walked him to the bed and sat him down firmly. He eyed her warily as she rummaged around in her drawer.

"What are you doing?" He questioned suspiciously.

"Well," Artemis blew out a breath and faced him once more. "You've bandaged me up before. Now it's my turn." Holding out a tissue she commanded, "Pinch."

He complied, and Artemis then handed him a bottle of water. "I'll go get a straw, give me a second."

Wally watched her go, holding his nose and thinking. She was being remarkably gentle, or as gentle as she could be, and he couldn't decide whether to be pleased or suspicious. Artemis reappeared a second later with a bright green straw and opened the water bottle effortlessly.

"Drink." She said, holding it out to him and he accepted it gratefully.

"How do you d'know so much about bloody d'noses?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Used to get them when I was little." She said, avoiding his gaze.

"Well, thank you." He said softly, making Artemis colour.

"Don't sound so surprised. I'm not doing this for you. I don't want to owe you anything." She grumbled, ducking in embarrassment.

Wally smirked, doubting that was the only reason she was taking care of him.

"Don't look at me like that." She said over her shoulder. "And don't tilt your head back."

"I'm not tilting my head back!" He protested.

"You are, I saw you!"

"Well maybe you're blind!"

The two teens bickered with good nature for once, until Wally's nosebleed stopped. When he had bid her good bye and sped home Artemis grinned. She had a weird tingly feeling in her stomach, and she felt like she'd just finished running a marathon. Everything about her was as light as a feather, and she was feeling really happy. The blonde bit her lip and told herself to pull it together because mature, composed heroes don't beam like goofballs just because they spent the night with a boy they didn't hate. Or maybe liked.

Artemis shook her head to get rid of that thought because she definitely didn't like Wally West. Even if he was kind of cute. And made her laugh. And took care of her and did stupid stuff like phase through walls just because she asked. A giddy sort of feeling spiralled up her chest and she buried her face into her pillow to hide her blushing smile.

.

.

.


	5. Night Four: Crisis

**Okay guys. I'm so sorry about the long wait, I'm sure some of you have lost interest by now, but I promise this chapter was worth waiting for. I'm very excited for it and I think you guys are going to love it, too.**

Their meeting that night had gone exactly as planned, they'd talked and enjoyed each other's company, and Wally had left grinning. That was nothing new. He was always smiling when she was around, smiling, or smirking, or laughing because something about her drew out the best parts of him.

So when his phone rang in the middle of the night, he had no idea what was going on. Wally squinted in the blinding light of his phone screen and blinked furiously as his eyes adjusted.

"H'lo?" He asked, words groggy with residual sleep.

"Wally." Her voice was nothing more than a scrape of vocal chords.

"Artemis." He sat up rubbing the tiredness from his eyes. "It's the middle of the night, what's wrong?"

"Wally." She sobbed, sounding broken. "Wally, it's never been this bad. Never. I can't- I can't be alone-,"

"Okay, okay. It's alright, Artemis. I'm coming, I'm coming right now. Stay where you are. Where are you, by the way?" He said, standing up and looking for his Kid Flash suit. He didn't have enough time to assemble an entire outfit.

"Bedroom. In the Mountain." She whispered, sounding terrified.

"What are you doing at the Mountain? Don't you live with your mom?" He paused to ask, momentarily distracted.

"Got in a fight. Didn't know where else to go. Please hurry."

"Right, right. Do you have any sorts of blades in there?" Wally inquired, pulling on his goggles.

"Yes. Razor and throwing knives." Artemis rasped, voice ragged.

"Take them out of there, do you hear me? Take them away, or put them somewhere else. Just don't let them be in the same room as you." Wally commanded firmly.

"I-I can't. I can't leave the bedroom, M'gann is outside." She swallowed and took a shuddering breath. "Please hurry."

"I have to disconnect, because I'm about to speed over, and my phone can't keep up with that, can you hold on for me?"

"I'll try. M'gann is gonna density shift if you don't hurry." She warned through the phone, and he gritted his teeth.

"Put me on speaker."

"Done."

Wally took a breath, wishing the Martian girl wasn't so damn concerned for others all the time. "M'gann. Do not come into this bedroom. This is Wally, I'm coming over right now, but you can't go in. I know you're worried about her, but you cannot come in."

"Wally? What is going on?" M'gann's sweet voice could be heard, sounding worried.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you. I have to hang up so I can speed over." He apologised, not sounding very sorry. Wally was desperately worried about Artemis, and every passing second was an opportunity for her to hurt herself.

Setting his jaw in grim determination, he stowed his phone and zipped through Central City to the Zeta faster than he ever had before. His feet flew over the pavement, g-force was pushing against him, and still he ran faster. If he turned out to be too late, he'd never forgive himself.

 _"Recognised, Kid Flash, B-03."_

"Artemis!" His voice was raw and cracking, as he sped towards the bathroom.

"Wally!" It was only M'gann, and for the first time, he didn't have time to slow down and try to chat her up.

"Miss M, I don't have time for this." He stressed each word with desperate urgency.

"No! Artemis is my friend too, I want to help!" She insisted, blocking the way.

"Goddamnit, M'gann! Get out of the way, this is a time-sensitive emergency!" He roared in frustration.

Stunned, the Martian stumbled back, gaping in surprise. Wally would fix that later, right now he didn't have the time.

He zipped past her to the bedroom door and knocked gently.

"Artemis? It's me." He called softly. No answer.

"Artemis?" Dead silence. Wally felt his heart rate lurch faster and he knocked hard.

"Artemis, please answer!" When he was still met with nothing he cursed.

Trying the handle, he found it was locked, and the locks on the bedrooms were electronic. Since he didn't have Robin's hacking skills, he had to resort to desperate measures.

Shaking his head, he blew out a breath and started to buzz. He phased through the wall and somehow, whether from luck or sheer force of will, he emerged from the other side unscathed.

Artemis was curled up in a ball on the floor, not moving, and Wally officially felt his heart freeze in his chest before he rushed over and sank to his knees.

"Artemis. Arty, talk to me." He murmured, easing towards her.

Her head lifted and he could see her cheeks were streaked with tears. Red-rimmed eyes stared blankly at him and he felt a horrible swooping sensation in his stomach, as he saw something in her stare he'd never seen before.

It was the same look that could be found the eyes of someone who'd given up, someone who had succumbed to all the pain that was crushing them.

Numbness.

There was nothing. No pain, no anger, no happiness. Just nothing.

And it slammed him right in his chest, making his heart ache and all the breath whoosh out of his lungs.

Eyes like those were found in alcoholics, broken hearts, druggies, but not proud blonde archers who always had comebacks on their tongues. Not beautiful girls who would always lift their chin in defiance, and always fight as hard as they could. Not strong heroes who would always have your back.

"Artemis. Listen to me. Don't you dare give up. Don't you dare. I don't care that you come from a bad family. I don't care that you've got a lot of problems, hell, I've got problems of my own. But don't you ever give up. Do not let that drag you under, you're stronger than that. I know you and you are stronger than that. I've seen you. Every mission, every argument we have, even when you know you're wrong or you're losing you'll fight your point to the end.

He shook her shoulders desperately, searching her empty grey eyes. "And I'm not giving up on you because I know that you're in there. Somewhere in there, I know you're in there, and I need you to fight. Fight this! You can do it! I have faith in you and I'm right here, fighting with you. I'm right here."

At this point tears were slipping down Wally's face, and his voice was shaking terribly. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

"I'm not giving up on you." He murmured into her ear. Her shoulders were trembling, and he buried his face in her loose hair.

They sat there for a while, silence reigning as their heartbeats pounded in unison, breaths flowing at the same time.

It was minutes, maybe hours, Wally lost track of time, before he felt Artemis shudder in his arms. He drew back and found tears dripping down her cheeks.

Using the pads of his thumbs, he swiped them away, and lifted her chin so he could look in her eyes.

A brightness. A sharp, bright pain was in her eyes, and that was a beautiful thing to Wally West in that instant because she was here. She was here and she was back.

Her eyes were glossy, and his were too, burning with heat and he let his head fall onto her shoulder. Wally felt a shaking in his own shoulders, and a choked laugh spilled from him, even as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Wally." Artemis's voice was rough from silence and pain. "You came."

"Of course I did." He looked at her sideways, achingly bittersweet. "You called."

And then Artemis's lips lifted into something resembling a smile, like a breaking dawn, and she looked over at Wally. They were so close together, inches separating them. She could've have kissed him because he was just so perfect draped in the darkness, and she could hear his heartbeat, but she didn't. Artemis was content to just intertwine in darkness.

"You fought, Artemis. You fought and you won." Wally's voice was brimming with pride.

She just closed her eyes and sighed, letting her head rest against the wall with a calm smile curving up her features. "Thank you. For coming."

Wally smiled softly, "No problem."

 **Playlist:**

 **1\. When the Darkness Comes by Colbie Caillet**

 **2\. Intertwined by dodie**

 **3\. Lean On Me by Bill Withers**

 **4\. I'll Be There by The Jackson 5**


	6. Night Five: Finale

**The long awaited grand finale is here! Hope you enjoy!**

 **-line break-**

"Hey." Wally stood awkwardly in her doorway, and she faced him tensely. Neither seemed to know how to start.

"Hi," she replied nervously after an uncomfortably long pause.

"So you're feeling better?" he asked.

"Y-yeah."

"Do you wanna talk about it, or-?" he asked, and she shook her head emphatically.

"I really wouldn't." She bit her lip and stepped out of the doorway to let him in.

He entered and they both sat on her bed.

"Can we just pretend it never happened?" she pleaded, staring at her hands.

Wally frowned, "I really think we should talk about it, I might be able to-,"

"No," she snapped quickly, hackles rising.

His own expression sharpened and his brows lowered over his eyes.

"Look, I know you're all used to being secretive and alone and stuff, but we're friends now, and I'm supposed to be here for you, because that's what friends do," he said, slightly annoyed.

"If I don't want to share one little thing with you, it's none of your business," she scowled defensively.

Wally's eyes widened in indignation and he sputtered, "Little thing-! Artemis, that 'little thing' almost made you commit suicide! That's not a little thing!"

"Listen, I can deal with it, okay? I've been doing it since I was born, so just forget it!" she yelled. He threw up his hands in exasperation. She was overreacting and two could play at that game.

"Stop shutting me out, Artemis!" Wally shouted back. "I want to help!"

"I don't want your help, then!" she exclaimed. "Stop trying to butt in!"

"You always do this!" he huffed, absolutely livid. "You always shut me out! As soon as you decide you don't like the conversation topic, you just shut down! I'm so sick of it! Why can't you just talk to me?"

"Because I don't trust you!" she screamed. "Okay? There. I don't trust you. Happy?"

He sat back, stunned. His face had gone completely blank, and he stared at her.

"I see," he said quietly.

Artemis realised her mistake.

"No, no, Wally, I didn't mean-!"

"Yes, you did," he said, standing up. "It's fine. Bye Artemis. It was nice being friends. I hope you figure things out on your own."

He walked away silently, leaving Artemis frozen on her bed.

"Wally, Wally, no-, please don't-!" The door slammed shut.

The echo in her head was deafening and she took a shaky breath.

"I messed up," she whispered to herself, voice trembling. "I really messed up."

 **-line break-**

Wally stalked to the zeta, practically vibrating with rage.

She didn't trust him? After he'd been there for her last night, after he'd apologised and apologised and cleaned her cuts and listened to her? He'd thought they were friends now, he had trusted her so much.

And god, hed liked being friends so much. Obviously they had been on different pages.

Wally swiped an arm angrily across his eyes. He was crying, and he hated it. He hated that their friendship had mattered that much to him.

"Stupid Artemis," he growled under his breath. "I hate her, I hate her, I hate her."

His fingers twitched as a wave of rage crashed over him.

Abruptly, he turned and punched the wall. A small crater formed under his fist and when he looked at his hand, his knuckles had split. Blood was now trickling down his hand, and the sting only made the tears come faster.

He hissed in pain, but made no move to find a first aid kit. Instead he just stood there and glared at his bleeding knuckles.

In some perverse way, the pain felt good, and a small part of him wanted to punch the wall again. And again. Just let the pain of his hand tear him away from the hurt in his chest.

A startled gasp escaped him as he realised what this was.

This was why Artemis cut herself.

She'd explained to him of course, but this was the first time he'd actually fully understood.

And it terrified him.

He was so scared of how much the desire tugged at him. The desire to inflict pain, to hurt himself. How did Artemis live with this?

Horrified, he cradled his hand to his chest and hurried to the zeta. He needed to think.

 _"Kid Flash, B-03,"_

 **-line break-**

Artemis didn't sleep that night. After ten minutes of tossing and turning, she disentangled herself from the sheets and got up. She spent the rest of the night pacing, trying to figure out how she was going to fix this mess. If only she had just talked to him. He was right, she really did shut down.

"Ugh, why did I do that?" she cursed herself for the seventeenth time. "God, I'm such a screw up."

There was that urge pulling at her to disappear into the bathroom, to take out her razor and- no. She wasn't going back to that. She was stronger now.

And that was thanks to Wally.

Artemis took a deep breath and rubbed her temples. What was she going to do?

She wished Wally was here. She wanted his advice, she wanted to know what he needed for her to fix things.

"What do I do, Wally?" she asked out loud.

"You know what to do," his imaginary voice told her and she sighed.

"I know I do," she said to the imaginary speedster. "But will it be enough?"

 **-line break-**

The Team had just come back from a mission, and each were going their separate ways, talking amongst themselves. Wally was walking towards the kitchen in hopes of finding a snack, when Artemis caught up with him.

"Wally!"

He ignored her and kept walking, though his back stiffened.

"Wally, please, I just want to talk."

He stopped and turned on her.

"Really? Funny, you didn't seem to want to talk last night," he said with a cold little smile.

Artemis flinched at his barbed words and then nodded. "Okay, I deserved that."

He snorted and kept walking. She followed him into the kitchen and waited patiently as he opened the fridge to retrieve sandwich fixings.

"You're still here?" he sneered as she sat down across the counter from him.

"I'm sorry, Wally," she said. "Look, I know I messed up. I know I went way too far yesterday and I'm really trying to apologize."

He said nothing, just continued to layer thin slices of turkey across his sandwich.

Artemis took a deep breath and continued, heart pounding in her ears. "I grew up in an abusive household."

She had his attention now.

"In my family, no one really loved each other, everyone was just out for themselves. I learned not to be so- free, with my feelings. I grew up, but I'm still like that, because that's how I was raised.

"I know I have issues. I know I shut people out, I know I'm too defensive. But I'm trying so hard to change. I really am, and with you around, I've made more progress than I ever have in my entire life.

"I really screwed up yesterday, and I'm so, so sorry. I do trust you, I promise. Probably more than I've ever trusted anyone else in the whole world. You've been here for me, and you've seriously changed my life.

"So what I'm trying to say is, if you want to leave, that's fine, I understand. But I'd really like to have you around. I need you."

He was watching her peculiarly. She wished he would say something, anything. Had she lost him forever?

"Wally?" she prodded, feeling tears prickle the back of her eyes.

And that's when he leaned over and kissed her.

She melted into it, feeling a cage of butterflies being released in her chest. She broke away first to look at him.

"What was that for?" she asked, slightly breathless.

"Being you," he said, smiling.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked playfully.

He answered by kissing her again and she found herself satisfied with his response.

"Hey, Artemis?" he murmured, as he broke away. Their noses brushed, and she smiled. "Yeah?"

"I have to tell you something."

"What's up?"

"I really like you," he said with a sheepish grin.

She laughed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I really like you too, Kid Idiot."

"And I forgive you for being a total jerk."

She laughed again and he smiled down at her, eyes twinkling. God, she loved those eyes.

"Thanks for everything," she said softly.

"Thanks for not punching me when I kissed you," he replied, smirking.

And then he pulled her closer and they stood there for a while, just enjoying each other's warmth.

 **-line break-**

 **And, that's a wrap! Thank you for sticking by me as I finished my very first multi-chap. I'm so glad you guys liked it, and I hope it lived up to all of your expectations. Please drop a review because they make me happy, and make sure to check out my other fics. Love you all ;)**

 **And the final song is...**

 **Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran**


End file.
